Petworth's Hungry Guest
Over the Easter Holidays, instead of driving to and from school, I run the children here and there, meeting friends and catching up with family/relatives. This morning we met Grandma in Petworth for coffee - but not just an ordinary coffee - it was at the Hungry Guest.
The only thing I have heard about the Hungry Guest in Petworth is that they make delicious bread, which I have been told is available in Waitrose.
Petworth is a tiny little town in West Sussex, full of beautiful antique and interior decor type shops. Petworth House and Park also draw a large amount of visitors to the town.
Surprisingly, there are three Hungry Guest’s in Petworth. How do I know? Because I was waiting in the wrong one!
How can there be three cafes of the same brand in this small rural town? Well, I soon understood why as they each have their different reason to visit.
We all ended up having a delicious coffee in the main Petworth Hungry Guest café on Lombard Street, after finally realising the problem and managing to meet.
We sat in the spring sunshine, sheltered next to a pretty wall, with eight tables and lovely cosy blankets on the back of each chair, in case the wind got up. There were also patio heaters to warm those visiting for early evening drinks and meals later in the year.
The restaurant has a full menu and is a bright and sunny, appealing place to grab a coffee, perched on the high bar stools - or sit down for a full breakfast, which looked delicious. On offer were chunky American Pancakes, served with berries and maple syrup, or eggs and bacon served on their delicious West Sussex white bread, which is a sourdough type of loaf, that is really good toasted.
I have the menu and we certainly intend to pop back another time of day to sample lunch or supper.
Now I knew there were three, I needed to see the other Hungry Guest locations in Petworth and around the corner found the Hungry Guest Frozen Food Shop. What a clever idea! Fill your freezer with the best of the Hungry Guest. Oh yes please!
Then just three more minutes’ walk uncovered the Hungry Guest Food Shop - my sort of heaven! Again there are high stools to grab a coffee and pastry but this shop is so well thought out.
Beautiful homemade bread piled high, of all different combinations and recipes, a butchers (boasting a wide variety of local reared beef, in house prepared sausages and game from both nearby estates and their own farm) and charcuterie expert, a cheesemonger in a huge climate controlled walk-in Cheese Room. Need I say more? It has an exceptional collection of artisan and farmhouse cheeses sourced from mainland Europe and across the British Isles.
As I groaned because I was leaving the shop, the gentleman serving me said:
“There is a Hungry Guest in Kent – it’s in West Malling”
Unfortunately for me that is about the same distance from home to Petworth. I wish my type of heaven was slightly closer, although I think the credit card would take a major pounding!
My Mum and I didn’t get time to look in many of the boutiques and galleries on this visit so we will have to go back for a longer visit.
Discover more about the Hungry Guest at www.thehungryguest.com